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When I found out that there was a guy hard at work putting together a petition for a gay channel on Dstv. I thought I need to track him down and interview him, especially in what I consider to be the most conflicted country when it comes to gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual issues.

The Observer presents an interview with Pierre LE ROUX, the man behind a petition to get Multichoice to look into developing and launching the countries very first gay channel.


Interview Stars Here
Thank for your time. Can you tell us more about who you are?
It’s my pleasure. I am a 31 year old gay male. I have been in a committed same sex relationship for ten years and in a few weeks time I will have been married to my life partner for three years. I am passionate about GLBT issues and have also been an activist for the rights of my community for the last 13 years. My academic background is routed in psychology and for the last 5 years I have been in career not traditionally associated with a gay man. I do not fall into all the stereotypes associated with the GLBT community. In my daily work life I try to break down misconceptions heterosexuals have about the GLBT community, and do my best to be a proud GLBT ambassador in all my endeavours.

What made you start this petition?
I have been watching gay themed movies and television programs and grew fractious with the manner in which the GLBT community is misrepresented and stereotyped. Till present, I have not seen the GLBT community accurately represented on television in South Africa. The misrepresentation of our community has also made me ponder the fact that the misrepresentation of our community in the popular media has some form of correlation to the heterosexual community finding it difficult to understand and accept our lifestyle and whether this is why homophobia is still rife in our country. DSTv’s campaign to recruit new subscribers by adding more community based channels caught my attention. I realized that once again only certain groups in the South African population were catered for and the GLBT community was once again neglected. This initiated the creation of the petition.

With this petition, are you asking Multichoice to consider launching a GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) Channel on Dstv? Or are you putting together a consortium to launch a channel on Dstv for the GLBT market?
It’s a little bit of both. It would be easier to request Multichoice to launch a GLBT channel on their own, but as all things in business it’s easier said than done. Since launching the petition late 2007, I have been approached by more than one production company that are in the preparatory phases of developing a GLBT channel, which they envisage to either pitch to Multichoice and other companies. So my idea is by no means an original one. The television industry is fiercely competitive and I doubt that production companies will agree to a consortium type of partnership to achieve their objectives as this will diminish their profits. However, I do not discard the possibility of such a consortium being establish should they be willing to negotiate.

Will this channel be similar to the likes of Logo or will it be similar to GAYtv in UK which airs on SkyDigital?
It is envisaged that the channel will be similar to LOGO and HERE! The only difference would be that the channel will also have to incorporate local content which should make up at least 30% of the total content of the channel. The channel will have to resonate with the viewers from all racial groups in South Africa and also account for cultural issues. If the channel just broadcast international content, viewers may soon feel disconnected. Furthermore, South Africa has a lot of talented producers, directors, writers, actors and other professionals that could greatly benefit from the opportunity of employment by such a channel.


Considering the fact that Mnet and Multichoice had rights for the very popular gay drama Queer As Folk and never broadcast the show. What makes you think they will accept the reality of a channel dedicated to the GLBT community and for it broadcasting shows such as Queer As Folk and Noah’s Arc to name a few?
I am aware that Mnet and Multichoice has the rights to a couple of gay programs which they have not aired. It’s not peculiar that they aired the L-Word on both Mnet and DSTv. In my opinion there is a bit of homophobia amongst the two companies which is fuelled by the fear they may have that the subscribers may be more offended by gay men in erotic scenes than what they are by two females in similar scenes. I do believe that this bias may make it difficult for both companies to be willing to broadcast certain shows, but history has shown that if the subscribers are offended by certain content the worse they do is switch channels, very few will unsubscribe and even less will launch a formal complaint.

Would you say your project to have a channel for your community is similar to the millions of complaints by black households and subscribers for Dstv to have channels dedicated to their lifestyles and interests? Lets face it compact is not black, it has the same channels as premium, it’s just priced differently!
I do not view the two as being similar. For one the GLBT community is much smaller and more diverse, secondly we are not asking for cheaper bouquets, or to incorporate more GLBT content into their existing channels. The black households did get their way in the form of Soweto Tv; I have watched this channel, and should my project succeed I would hope the content is of better quality and truly satisfy the needs of the GLBT community and speak to our life style as realistically as possible.

Are you concerned that your petition, if effective in making them pay attention, it may result in them creating a custom selection of channels they believe are gay friendly and put a different subscription package for that? And would that be enough?


In Canada, they had PrideVisionTV which is now OUTv. When it was PrideVision it provided regular gay content and would then showcase hardcore pornography during their late-night broadcasts. Is this what you envisage for your channel or are you petitioning for a Logo type channel?
My petition is for a Logo type channel. However, the hardcore pornography issue has been raised. Personally I do not agree with that approach, but strategically it may be considered during the initial phase. The pornography would also further pose a challenge as to when to air what type of pornography as the GLBT community is diverse and many preferences would have to be catered for.

One of the most successful gay channels is HERE! which is available as a premium subscription channel or a video on demand service and/or a subscription video on demand service. It has produced a lot of original content including “Dante's Cove”. Do you know the channel?
I am aware of Here! A marriage between Here! and Logo will be the ultimate goal of my project. Should the channel be launched I would like to source content from both channels and merge the two modals.

Have you thought of what model your petitioned channel will follow? Would it be subscription (Like HERE) or advertiser supported (Like LOGO)
Best case scenario it will be subscription based during the initial phase and later be driven by advertiser support. Advertisers may by hesitant to support the channel at first, but once credibility and a stable market has been established more advertisers should be willing to participate.



HERE’s success is largely due to the fact that the US cable market is very big. Do you think South Africa and Africa within the Dstv platform has a large enough market to support this type of channel?
This is a difficult question to answer. In South Africa the market may be sufficient to support the channel. The greater African region may be problematic. If you take a look at the members on the facebook group, there are many members from the greater African region, most of them living in countries where homosexuality is either illegal or taboo. I strongly doubt that a GLBT channel will even be allowed to air in some of these countries, but should it be aired I believe the greater African region would provide even greater support for the channel than South Africa, as the channel will be their only contact with the GLBT community and also their only outlet.

I’ve come to realize that South Africa has a lot of closeted gay men and very confused bisexual men, not to mention narrow minded heterosexuals who find it amusing to torture GLBT people and let’s not forget those who call themselves Christians only to ridicule other human beings. How do you think all those factors will affect the petition and it’s objectives?
Of course there will be some kind of resistance when the petition becomes more public. No battles are won without resistance. South Africa has a great history of activism and our constitution provides for freedom of speech. If there are groups that appose the petition I would welcome the publicity that will emanate from it, it may cause greater exposure for the petition and could even help further our objective.


How would you feel if one of the Christian groups organized a petition, to oppose your gay channel petition?
I would welcome any religious group to petition to appose the GLBT channel. All religious groups have GLBT members in their religions. My argument would be that they have numerous channels catering for their needs on DSTv, and if you take a closer look at those channels you will find that there is a lot of money to be made from religion. If they use the same old worn out bible verses and laboured reasoning, I do not see their effort as being a threat to our objective.

Besides the obvious, what drove you to put together this petition?
Personally I grew tired of having to buy DVD’s and box sets in order watch GLBT content movies and programming. I felt selfish and wanted the wider GLBT community to have access to the same. I still remember the first gay movie I ever saw, and the way it made me feel. At the age of 16, for the first time, I realized there are other people in the world just like me, with the same problems, feeling and desires. It made me feel accepted, help me loose my fear of being in the closet and provided me with optimism. A gay channel, I believe, could do the same for countless other GLBT individuals out there that are still in the closet, confused and alone.

Are you amazed that your FaceBook group has over 2,500members?


You have reached 1,260 signatures for your petition. How do you feel about that?
I am a bit disappointed with the number of signatures. There are 2500 members and only half the signatures on the petition.

Is this just a petition or have you actually thought about the fact that the petition is not going to make a channel profitable but the channel plan will make it a hit or miss. Have you thought about that, especially when asked what type of channel is this going to be? Besides it being a gay channel of course, considering the market we are in.
The petition is only a starting point to create awareness to test the interest of the GLBT community and whether this is what they really want. A channel plan will be finalized in due course once the production companies who has shown interest has agreed to a consortium and if no agreement can be achieved the final proposal will be presented by either production company.

Do you think Dstv and Mnet value gay subscribers and viewers? Or do you think they consider GLBT audiences as another minority segment, but not a priority?
I do not believe that the GLBT subscribers are undervalued by Mnet or DSTv, but we are most certainly not a priority when it comes to programming or sourcing content for their channels.


Do you think the number of signatures you've obtained thus far, will make Dstv pay close attention to your petition?
Honestly, I do not think 1260 signatures will make them stand up and take notice. I am sure that a lot more signatures can be obtained, but at present the petition is only hosted on two websites on the internet and has not actually received much exposure. Should more GLBT individuals become aware of the petition the number of signatures is sure to increase. It is also worth noting that at least 12% of the signatures on the petition are from heterosexual individuals.

Have you realized that if all of those signatures are Dstv Premium subscribers they account for over R4million in revenue per annum for Dstv?
No I did not, that is very good to know, and will most definitely be incorporated into the proposals.


How do you think the subscribers of Dstv will respond to having a gay channel on their line-up?
I am sure that there will be a few that may take issue with the channel. However, there are so many channels that the average subscriber never watch and some that they are not even aware exists. I do not foresee any major fall out from the average DSTv subscriber. The channel will have a PG rating, so if there are any parents that do not want their children exposed to GLBT content they can always activate the parental control option on their decoders.

Would you say an option for subscribers to add the channel would be the best alternative in this case or would that discriminate against such a channel? If so what would be the best way, in your opinion, to have the channel on air in such a way that it accommodates non-gay subscribers?
There is a fine line when it comes to accommodating non-gay subscribers. Many gay themed shows have been aired on South African television that was gay themed and accommodated non-gay viewers, the best example will be Will & Grace. However, Will & Grace as an example did not depict the GLBT life style accurately and leaned more towards having the gays provide a cheap laugh. This will not be the goal of the GLBT channel. It will cater for the GLBT audience needs first, the secondary purpose will be to help educate non-gay viewers as to the reality of the GLBT life style and provide them with a greater understanding of who we are and what we go through.

Business wise, a gay channel is very viable due largely to the target market and their disposable income but the market being such a minority in this country makes it a liability. Have you thought of how that will be dealt with?
The GLBT community can be very fickle and I think this is one of the reasons we are sometimes considered to be a liability. We do not spend our hard earn money on things we do not consider to be worth it. That’s why the channel must be of good quality, and the advertisers should do their market research appropriately. If you look at most of the loyal brands that cater to the GLBT community most have successfully adapted their marketing campaigns to cater to the GLBT community with great success. Appropriate market research will be the make or break of the channel.


Part of Logo’s scheduling issues revolved around when and where to place certain shows due to the out going nature of gay audiences. Do you think this may be factor for this type of channel in South Africa?
Most certainly we will have the same issue in South Africa. The gays like to party and we all know what days of the week that is. Programming therefore should be smart, to adapt to these trends and viewing patterns. All major television studios across the world have the same problem and deal with these issues in the same way. The GLBT channel will be no different. The night clubs will not be empty on Friday and Saturday nights, that I can assure you, and neither will those gay people that choose to stay home be bored watching our channel either.

A lot of gay channels in UK and US failed due to financing issues. Is it your plan to have the channel owned and operated by Dstv?
At this point it is not yet determined it will depend on negotiations later on. One thing to also consider is that soon DSTv will no longer be the only satellite television service provider in South Africa. In the coming year they will have a new competitor and this company has not been negated in our plans.

Do you think licensing a brand such as LOGO from MTV Networks to launch a localized version of the channel would be better? And would it offer the local GLBT community something?
I think licensing a brand such as Logo should be a last resort as it probably will not satisfy the local community needs. Sourcing content from international channels and incorporating local content would be the best course of action.


I spent some time going through the petition to get a sense of those who signed. In looking at the signatures, I noticed 8 black signatures “names”, possibly more from those who did not sign their surnames but have the so called “white first names”, but the reality is that you have less black signatures on the petition. And it (the petition) also states the fact that you want Multichoice to listen and cater for its GLBT customers. Does this mean the focus is mostly on white Dstv customers? Or are you attempting to highlight your issue through current Dstv customers from the GLBT regardless of race for the overall benefit of those with or without Dstv?
I am attempting to highlight the issues of the GLBT community and not necessarily just those of the current GLBT DSTv subscribers and there is no preference to any specific racial group. The petition also attempts to highlight the fact that there are many GLBT individuals not yet subscribers who may become subscribers as soon as the channel is aired.

What were the results of your survey?
The survey was completed by more heterosexuals than GLBT members. In brief, the survey showed that all the GLBT respondents and a percentage of heterosexuals would want access to a gay channel. The majority of the respondents would prefer international content on the channel. The majority of the respondents indicated that they would not want to pay an additional subscription fee to access the channel. The survey did not receive a large enough response to quantify the results into actionable conclusions but on the surface the statistics speaks for itself.

Pierre thank you for agreeing to this, do you have anything you’d like people to know about your petition?
I would like people to know that even minority groups needs a voice. No person, regardless of their sexual orientation lives in isolation and discrimination stems from misunderstanding. The petition’s ultimate goal is to have a voice for the GLBT community in the form a gay channel that will realistically reflect our life style, address our daily issues, educate, humour and stimulate better understanding between all members of the GLBT community and any other individuals who support or wish to better understand us.
End of Interview


This is what is called a “niche within a niche” type channel and it requires an unbelievable amount of inspired creativity in order for the channel to reach its required financial profitability without sacrificing its programming and content nature. No one can ever say it can’t be successful, because the very concept of Satellite Television was designed in part to offer more channels to satisfy various television needs. If it fails it would due entirely to bad business sense. If you look at UK and the US as a case study, a lot of niche beyond niche channels have been launched over the years and continue to be on air whilst platforms claim 200 to 400 channel numbers which in turn attract more subscribers.

If South African television is anything to go by, we may find that if this channel is in deed launched it will appeal to white gay men and women, which will eventually inspire a so called “black version”. Unless the people behind this channel truly put together a mother of team to harness every available talent in the GLBT community to launch a super channel, then they stand to have a channel which will be exciting to watch.


All this is subject to what type of content the channel will offer, which may be a miss or hit with viewers. Logo’s success is the result of MTV Networks resources and continued support. The channel relied very little on its idea but more on the MTV Networks wealth of talent, creativity, business connections, money, etc to guarantee its success.


If you don’t mind I would also like to know if you are gay, gay friendly, heterosexual, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or down right confused. If you don’t feel comfortable revealing your orientation, I respected that, you can just leave your comment. I’m quite interested to know how you would re-act to the channel being on air.


Related Links
The FaceBook Group
The Petition
LOGO
HERE Television
Dstv
A list of other gay channels


By The Observer

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